"I feel like Harriet is at home gloating right now," Mulder said as they drove into their parking space at the motel and snow began to fall gently onto the windshield. "Well, maybe not gloating, but happy that she was right about the weather and that you have a coat to keep you from freezing."

"Yeah," Scully said, nodding with a smile as she watched the snow falling.

"You wanna order a pizza? Decompress?" he asked, turning the car off and looking at her.

"That sounds good. But, I want to take a shower first and warm up a bit. Then I'll be over." He nodded and they got out.

"Hmm…" she said, tilting her head back to let the snow hit her face. "I'm glad we're here and not in the forest with the snow falling. Considering that it will probably continue through the night, I'd much rather be someplace with shelter."

"You act as though you've spent cold and snowy nights in forests before."

She lifted her head and stared at him, seeing snow in his hair and on his jacket. Reaching out without really thinking, she brushed her hand into his hair, loosening the snow. He stood still, smiling slowly as he looked down at her.

"Sorry," she said, dropping her hand down.

"It's okay," he said quietly as she stepped back. "I promise that it's snow, not dandruff."

"Mulder," she murmured, shaking her head with a chuckle. "Go order that pizza, warm up your room, straighten up that table so we have a space to eat, and I'll be over soon, after I enjoy the snow for a moment, that is."

"Yes, ma'am." He saluted and she shook her head as he walked into his room and shut the door.

Smiling, she put her hand out and watched the snowflakes landing silently, lighter than air.

"Agent Scully?"

She looked up and saw Darcy walking toward her bundled against the cold, a concerned expression on her face.

"Hello, Darcy."

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. I was actually just coming to leave you a note to tell you to come down to the office, but now you're here."

"Oh, is it about the heater?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Let me hear it," Scully said with a sigh.

Ten minutes later, she had everything packed as she shivered in the barely warm room.

The heater had been unable to be fixed, a new one ordered but not arriving for at least a week. A portable radiator had been brought in, but was hardly big enough to heat the room.

Checking to be sure she had everything, she picked up her bag and left the room.

Knocking on Mulder's door, she watched the snow falling as she waited for him to answer.

"That was fast," he said, opening the door. "Oh… maybe not."

"The heater is completely broken. Needs to be replaced."

"And so you're looking for a warm place to rest for the night?"

"No. I need to get my toiletries and other things I left in here, plus the car keys. I found a motel a couple of miles from here. So I'll head over there and then pick you up in the morning."

"Wait. What? What motel? No. You don't need to do that. We can…"

He stopped speaking when she smiled, unable to stop herself.

"You think you're funny?" he asked, moving out of the way to let her inside.

"No. I know I am," she said, stepping inside and setting her bag down on the bed. "It's fun watching you get flustered."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, closing the door. "Go ahead and laugh. You'll change your tune soon."

"Nah. I'm in the room now. I have the upper hand."

"Hmm," he hummed with a smile. "I ran into a problem of my own."

"What's that?"

"The pizza place doesn't deliver. So, I'm going to leave now and wait for it to be ready."

"Perfect. I'll stay and take a shower and…" She looked at the still messy table and then back at him. "… clean up the table. Seeing how you didn't do it."

"There's that change to your tune I was talking about," he said, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "I knew it would come around."

"Whatever," she said, smiling as she unzipped her bag and took out her pajamas and his sweatshirt that she had worn last night. "You want to wear this when you go?"

"No. I got my coat. It's yours if you want to wear it again."

"Thanks," she said, setting it onto the bed.

"Okay, I'll go and be back soon."

When he had gone, she filled one of the dresser drawers with clothes and then hung up her suits, setting her bag beside his in the closet. Taking her pajamas, socks, underwear, and his sweatshirt into the bathroom, she undressed and took a shower.

Dressed, her hair wrapped up in a towel, she put her dirty clothes in one of the plastic bags she always brought with her, and then cleared the table a bit.

The door opened and Mulder walked in carrying the pizza along with two bottles of water, his coat and hair once again flecked with snow.

"Seems like everyone had the same idea we did. It was pretty crowded, so it took some extra time."

"It smells good," she said, sitting down and taking the bottles of water from him.

They ate and discussed the case, stating their disappointment when they had not found any evidence of any of the men or gained any insight as to where they might be.

"Helped with the town morale, though," Scully said. "I think they saw that the sheriff and others haven't been shirking their responsibilities."

"Yeah. Is that what you were talking to Detective Nuñez about?"

"Somewhat. She apologized for today at the station and then we talked about the case and what she thought had happened to the men."

"What did she think?"

"She didn't know, what with the lack of information available. But she never mentioned magic or a spirit in the forest."

"Because you weren't with a true believer, like Fauna," he said and she laughed.

"A believer in dancing naked by a cemetery?"

"Scully," he warned and she laughed again.

Their pizza finished, the trash thrown away in an outside bin, she stood in the doorway and watched the snow falling, the ground covered with a very light dusting.

"I think I prefer rain," Mulder said as he came to stand beside her. "Snow is nice, but the sound of rain is comforting."

"Yeah," she agreed, sighing as the snow began to fall a little faster and she closed the door. "You need anything out of the bathroom before I go in there?"

"No. Go ahead."

Her nighttime routine done, she got into bed and sighed. Hearing the shower start running, she closed her eyes, her body growing heavier and heavier with sleep.

Startling awake, her heart racing, she found that the room was now dark. She heard the soft murmur of a baseball game and then Mulder breathing beside her.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice low and she nodded as she drew in deep breaths.

"I'm okay. I didn't know I'd fallen asleep."

"Hmm. Bad dream?"

"I…"

"Scully?"

"Yeah… no. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered her dream.

The fear she had felt. The red dress she wore as Mulder was being pulled from her grasp. The men holding her back as she had screamed his name, fear filling her heart as she stared at his face and saw the moment of acceptance in his eyes.

"No!" she had screamed, trying desperately to get to him. "Don't hurt him! It was me. Take me instead."

"Be quiet, Dana," he had said, his hands secured behind him with thick rope. "Don't listen to her. She doesn't know what she's saying."

"I do know. It was me! Take me and leave him in peace. He's…"

"She did nothing wrong. Every bit of it was me. Leave her alone."

"No. Please no."

The men had let go of her and she ran to him, clinging to him and crying.

"You didn't do what they accused you of. You have to tell them."

"No. I would rather die if it meant that you were safe."

"But I need you. Please."

"And I you. But I am not growing a life inside of me, my love. I would die a thousand deaths for you and our child."

He had pressed his forehead to hers and she had tried to stop crying, not wanting the last thing he saw to be her sadness.

Again they had been separated and she stood resolute as he had been led to the gallows, her eyes on his as the rope had been slipped around his neck.

"I love you," he had said. "In this life and every other one we will share."

"I love you too," she had said, placing a hand on her belly and stretching a hand out to him. "We both love you."

"Until the end of time," he had said and she nodded.

"Forever and always."

The executioner had placed his hands on the lever and she had gasped, every fiber of her being on fire. The wood had creaked and she had held her breath, the child within her moving, as the executioner pushed the lever with all his might…

"Scully? Was it a bad dream or-"

She turned over quickly and dove into his arms, crying as she held onto him.

"Hey, it's okay. You're okay. I'm here," he said, holding her close and murmuring into her hair.

"Mulder," she cried, as she recalled the rich scent of earth, the warmth of the sun, and the sound of the wood creaking as her heart broke into millions of pieces.